Staff file photo / Brian Yauger Youngstown Phantoms forward William Whitelaw and Madison Capitols forward Casey Severo chase down a puck.

CANONSBURG, Pa. — As the new season begins, Phantoms forward William Whitelaw has a goal in mind.

The University of Wisconsin commit wants to get drafted.

Whitelaw spent nine games with the Phantoms last year after being the top overall selection in the 2021 USHL Futures Draft, but will be a full-time member of the team this season.

Last year, at Shattuck St. Mary’s 18U, a prep school in Minnesota, Whitelaw racked up 110 points (46 goals, 64 assists) in 55 games.

With this being his first full season in the USHL and his first year of draft eligibility, Whitelaw has been spending a lot of time honing his craft. There’s no area of his game that hasn’t been worked on this offseason.

“This year is a big year. It’s my draft year and it’s my first full year in the USHL, so I’ve been hitting the weight room a lot, getting on the ice, working on well-rounding my game,” Whitelaw said. “Making sure my defense is more well-rounded this year and I just want to be ready to go and put the puck in the net this season.”

That’s going to continue this season as Whitelaw has an “all gas, no brakes” approach to hockey season. Helping the Phantoms win and keep improving his all-around game are the top priorities.

He acknowledges the shortcomings of his game and is making sure to keep improving on them.

“This year I’m going to get ready for college hockey,” Whitelaw said. “It’s my senior year of high school, so finish out school and just get ready to move on to the next level. I think Youngstown has a big part in that. I’ve had a lot of success offensively in my career, but I think that you always can be better defensively. That’s one area where a lot of offensive people struggle a lot.

“I want to be as good defensively as possible here so I can get drafted as high as possible. I want to be the most well-rounded player this year in the draft.”

Watching two of his friends go in the first two rounds of this month’s NHL Entry Draft gave Whitelaw a little extra motivation.

“A bunch of my buddies I grew up with got drafted this year,” Whitelaw said. “Isaac Howard (Round 1, Tampa Bay) and Ryan Chesley (Round 2, Washington). It’s just cool to see what they go through. I’m really excited to get ready for my draft year. It’d mean a lot to me to get drafted high into a good team, so I’m excited.”

Being a smaller guy, listed at 5-foot-8, Whitelaw has the right players in mind to model his game after.

Ottawa Senators star forward Alex DeBrincat, who is 5-foot-7, is one of them.

“I like Cole Caufield (Montreal), Alex DeBrincat and Brayden Point (Tampa Bay),” Whitelaw said. “I like to model my game after those three. They all have skill, a little undersized guys, but they work really hard and play in all situations in the game. They make the right plays at the right time, they can all score and they all make really good plays.”

Expect Whitelaw to be a staple member of the Phantoms this season.

“Will is an extremely dynamic player,” Phantoms coach Ryan Ward said. “He’s a great teammate. He works extremely hard. Obviously he’s a special personality to have in the room and he’s a special player.”

After this season, Whitelaw is set to attend the University of Wisconsin to continue his hockey career. After visiting there, he thinks it’s the best place to help him achieve his dream of playing in the NHL.

“I went to a couple other schools (on visits), but Wisconsin, I just loved it there,” he said. “It just felt like home for me. The coaching staff is great. The players are great. They treat me very well. They talk to me all the time and it’s just a great spot. I think there’s no better place if you want to play in the NHL than Wisconsin.”

byauger@tribtoday.com